livelovelaugh84 Posted October 2, 2013 #1 Share Posted October 2, 2013 Hi, Someone told me today you have to pay additional duty if you buy a drink while in port. Is this true? If so, how much additional would you have to pay? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare sparks1093 Posted October 2, 2013 #2 Share Posted October 2, 2013 Hi,Someone told me today you have to pay additional duty if you buy a drink while in port. Is this true? If so, how much additional would you have to pay? Thanks You have to pay sales tax, not duty. It depends on what the sales tax is for the state you are sailing from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livelovelaugh84 Posted October 2, 2013 Author #3 Share Posted October 2, 2013 You have to pay sales tax, not duty. It depends on what the sales tax is for the state you are sailing from. We'll be in Europe (Spain, France and Italy). So if I buy, say, a glass of wine on board, while we're in port - it will cost more than at sea? I'm surprised! Hadn't even thought about this before! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jocap Posted October 2, 2013 #4 Share Posted October 2, 2013 If your cruise begins in Spain, or whilst you're in a Spanish port, and buy a drink on board, you'll be charged Spanish VAT. Many cruise lines manage to get round this by touching on a non EU country such as Gibraltar, Tunis, Channel/Canary Islands etc. As more and more countries join, then their choice shrinks....Croatia used to be outside, but is either in or in the process of being in now. This explains why many ships call into Gibraltar for a very short visit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiserBruce Posted October 2, 2013 #5 Share Posted October 2, 2013 Not in France or Italy. Spain has a law about charging a tax (not a duty) if the ship is in Spanish waters. Tax laws are always local. Florida has a law saying if you buy a booze package, a bottle of wine for example, or a booze card, and it is in your cabin, you pay a local sales tax. But not if you have that package provided "at sea". Drinks purchased while in port in Florida don't have any additional tax. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livelovelaugh84 Posted October 2, 2013 Author #6 Share Posted October 2, 2013 Thanks for your helpful responses. We are leaving from Barcelona so it's good to be aware of the sales tax!! Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith1010 Posted October 3, 2013 #7 Share Posted October 3, 2013 This does vary by port. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OasisOfTheSneeze Posted October 5, 2013 #8 Share Posted October 5, 2013 Better than Duty in drinks. I'll be here all night folks. Tip your servers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsrdsrdsr Posted October 5, 2013 #9 Share Posted October 5, 2013 If you're in Britain or Europe, the price you are asked for the drink (or any other product) is the price you will pay. For alcoholic drinks, the price will include a lot of duty and sales tax (VAT), but it's already included, they don't add it at the till like in America. As for whether it's more than the ship charges, that depends on your ship. I don't know what the US lines charge when they're in Europe, but I know that what US lines charge in the Caribbean/Alaska is vastly more than any British lines charge worldwide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.